Chuck Fleischmann
R · U.S. House, TN-3 · Tier 1/2
Tier 1/2, between “Firmly pro-Israel” and “Mainstream pro-Israel”
Confronted in March 2024 by ceasefire activists who asked whether he was “concerned about all the children dying in Gaza,” he said Israel is “not guilty of genocide,” added “you can tell the Palestinians I will never support them,” and told a Palestinian man, “Then I will tell you to your face: Goodbye to Palestine.” His statement the next day blamed the hostage-taking on “Hamas and their Palestinian supporters” and pledged that the United States “will support Israel until they finish the job,” and he doubled down again on local radio (Mar 2024); he has kept an “I stand with Israel” sign on his office door since October 7 (Oct 2025), and his official site calls Israel’s security “simply non-negotiable.” He voted for every tracked Israel measure — both Israel-only supplementals (H.R.6126, Nov 2023; H.R.7217, Feb 2024), the April 2024 package (H.R.8034), the bill to force the paused bomb shipment (H.R.8369, May 2024), both ICC-sanctions bills, H.Res.894 and the September 2026 college anti-boycott bill — and against the 2025 Greene and 2026 Massie amendments to cut Israel’s military aid. In January 2024 he signed the Smith–Manning letter, whose signers “thoroughly reject” South Africa’s “charge of genocide” against Israel.
A 1/2, not a clean 1. Fleischmann has voted for every tracked Israel measure, including the bill forcing the paused bomb shipment and both ICC-sanctions bills, and against the 2025 Greene and 2026 Massie cuts. His hardest words come from one March 2024 episode: asked by ceasefire activists about children dying in Gaza, he said Israel is “not guilty of genocide,” told them “you can tell the Palestinians I will never support them,” and said “Goodbye to Palestine” to a Palestinian man. His statement the next day pledged U.S. support for Israel “until they finish the job,” and he doubled down on local radio. Nothing since repeats that register; in October 2025 he called himself “a proponent of the peace process.” He has written no Israel legislation and leads no Israel caucus, and no concern for Palestinian civilians appears in his record. Counter-case: a 1 if words aimed at Palestinians as a people, repeated in writing and on air, are read as a brand.
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elect26 places 2026 midterm candidates on a six-tier spectrum, from 1 (most pro-Israel) to 6 (most critical of Israel).